- Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 October 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 21 November 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact on (a) the whole of Scotland and (b) each Scottish local authority area of the UK Government’s plans to enable an average of 95% of the UK to have 4G coverage by 2025.
Answer
Information provided by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) indicates that the Shared Rural Network (SRN) proposal may deliver 85% geographic 4G coverage for Scotland and not the 95% figure that would apply to the UK as a whole. No data on expected coverage at local authority level has been provided to the Scottish Government at this time.
The final anticipated coverage prediction for Scotland will not be known until DCMS reaches agreement with the Mobile Network Operators – which we believe is likely to be in early 2020. The delivery of the SRN is also predicated on substantial UK Government investment, which will require a new state aid notification that cannot be taken for granted. This investment will be crucial if the coverage predictions shared by DCMS are to be delivered.
- Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 October 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 21 November 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what its estimate is of the current coverage of 4G across (a) the whole of Scotland and (b) each Scottish local authority area.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not collect or publish mobile coverage data and all regulation and legislative competence in respect of mobile telecommunications, including 4G services, remains a reserved matter or responsibility for UK Ministers under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998.
Raw data on mobile coverage, including at local authority level, is published by Ofcom, the UK telecommunications regulator, as part of its Connected Nations report. Ofcom’s latest published dataset is available at https://www.ofcom.org.uk/research-and-data/multi-sector-research/infrastructure-research/connected-nations-update-summer-2019 .
- Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 November 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 21 November 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what the waiting time for cataract operations has been in each of the last 10 years, broken down by NHS board.
Answer
The ISD Waiting Times Team does not publish procedure level data. All data is currently published at specialty level only. Therefore only Ophthalmology data is provided (which includes cataract procedures).
Table 1 shows the waiting times for inpatient and day case admissions for Ophthalmology Specialty for the last 8 years broken down by NHS Board.
| | | Report Date |
| | Indicator | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 3 | 2018 3 | 2019 3 |
Ayrshire &
Arran | Median wait (days) | 25.0 | 34.0 | 25.0 | 23.0 | 17.0 | 6.0 | 14.0 | 26.0 |
Borders | Median wait (days) | 27.0 | 56.0 | 45.0 | 34.0 | 41.0 | 71.0 | 93.0 | 92.0 |
Dumfries & Galloway | Median wait (days) | 23.5 | 34.0 | 41.0 | 54.0 | 55.0 | 58.0 | 67.0 | 81.0 |
Fife | Median wait (days) | 34.0 | 54.0 | 53.5 | 47.0 | 71.0 | 74.0 | 84.0 | 61.0 |
Forth Valley | Median wait (days) | 46.0 | 43.0 | 55.0 | 59.0 | 68.0 | 75.0 | 77.0 | - |
Grampian | Median wait (days) | 34.0 | 43.0 | 62.0 | 58.0 | 73.5 | 116.0 | 96.0 | 96.0 |
Greater
Glasgow
& Clyde | Median wait (days) | 27.0 | 33.0 | 35.0 | 37.0 | 47.0 | 50.0 | 53.0 | 71.0 |
Highland | Median wait (days) | 36.0 | 63.0 | 57.0 | 60.0 | 50.0 | 97.0 | 94.0 | 100.0 |
Lanarkshire | Median wait (days) | 26.0 | 40.0 | 48.0 | 76.0 | 81.0 | 90.0 | 74.0 | 70.0 |
Lothian | Median wait (days) | 36.0 | 56.0 | 46.0 | 41.0 | 61.0 | 56.0 | 64.0 | 69.0 |
Orkney | Median wait (days) | 15.0 | 35.0 | 27.0 | 34.5 | 57.0 | 117.0 | 65.0 | 156.0 |
Shetland | Median wait (days) | 0.0 | 49.0 | 57.0 | 68.5 | 61.5 | 64.0 | 83.0 | 133.5 |
Tayside | Median wait (days) | 30.5 | 40.0 | 46.0 | 43.0 | 58.0 | - | - | 112.0 |
Western Isles | Median wait (days) | 20.5 | 36.0 | 29.0 | 33.0 | 35.5 | 34.0 | 28.0 | 28.0 |
Source: ISD Waiting Times Warehouse
Notes:
1. ISD do not hold these data at procedure level therefore this table is for all ophthalmology procedures and not just cataract operations.
2. This table only refers to patients added to the Waiting list on or after 01 October 2012. This is when the treatment time guarantee was implemented.
3. Due to data quality issues, Forth Valley's data has been excluded for Calendar Year 2019 and Tayside's data has been excluded for Calendar Years 2017 and 2018.
- Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 November 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 21 November 2019
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-25898 by Fergus Ewing on 31 October 2019, whether it considers the interim Chief Executive of the South of Scotland Enterprise to be the first Chief Executive under its interpretation of this provision in the South of Scotland Enterprise Act 2019.
Answer
The interim Chief Executive of South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE) will be the first chief executive of SOSE under the terms of the South of Scotland Enterprise Act 2019 and will be appointed by South of Scotland Enterprise with Scottish Ministers’ approval.
- Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2019
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 27 November 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to Dumfries and Galloway Council's decision to bring its waste collection and disposal service fully in-house.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 27 November 2019
- Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 November 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 20 November 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what action NHS Dumfries and Galloway is taking to (a) support access to and (b) reduce waiting times for cataract surgery.
Answer
Transformational work is taking place within NHS Dumfries and Galloway with the vast majority of post cataract reviews now discharged to community optometry. This frees up capacity within the hospital eye service. An action plan has also been developed in collaboration with colleagues within West of Scotland to improve access to cataract surgery. This has included additional appointments as part of General Ophthalmic Services to support community optometrists when referring patients with a cataract to ensure that unnecessary referrals are avoided.
As part of the Scottish Governments Waiting times Improvement Plan we are making available more than £102 million to Health Boards in 2019/20, to increase capacity in the system, for example, more staffing, evening and weekend clinics and additional theatre sessions to ensure progress towards delivering the waiting times improvement plan of which more than £2.5 million has been made available to NHS Dumfries and Galloway.
- Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 14 October 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 19 November 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what its current estimate is of the costs to public funds that have resulted from the delay in delivering the (a) Glen Sannox and (b) hull 802 ferries to Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd.
Answer
The Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work has set up a Programme Review Board to report on the revised schedule and costs for the delivery of vessels 801 and 802 under construction at Ferguson Marine shipyard.
The report is expected to be submitted shortly. When that report has been received, and Ministers have had an opportunity to consider it, Mr Mackay will update Parliament on the content.
- Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 14 October 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 18 November 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what its current estimate is of the dates when the (a) Glen Sannox and (b) hull 802 will be delivered to Caledonian MacBrayne for operational use.
Answer
The Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work set up a Programme Review Board to report on the revised schedule and costs for the delivery of vessels 801 and 802 under construction at Ferguson Marine shipyard.
The report is expected to be submitted shortly. When that report has been received, and Ministers have had an opportunity to consider it, Mr Mackay will update Parliament on the content.
- Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 October 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 14 November 2019
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been allocated to GP services in NHS Ayrshire and Arran in each of the last five years, broken down by what percentage of the NHS board's spending this represents.
Answer
The following table shows how much has been allocated by the Scottish Government to GP services in NHS Ayrshire and Arran in each of the last five years but it does not represent the full percentage of spend by NHS Ayrshire & Arran.
Table 1 - Allocations to NHS Ayrshire & Arran
Financial Year | GP Services |
2014-15 | £49,273,506 |
2015-16 | £50,451,036 |
2016-17 | £53,059,313 |
2017-18 | £54,324,768 |
2018-19 | £58,995,851 |
Detail on primary medical services spending and the NHS budget is made available each year as part of the annual NHS Cost Book publication and the Scottish Budget. The Cost Book can be accessed here: https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Finance/Costs/. It is possible to use these figures to compare the Scottish Government's allocation to NHS Ayrshire & Arran's spending but the Scottish Government's means of determining what is allocated for general practice will not be the same as the categories NHS Ayrshire & Arran will use to determine where it has spent funds.
- Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 November 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 14 November 2019
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-25898 by Fergus Ewing on 31 October 2019, whether the successor to the interim Chief Executive of the South of Scotland Enterprise Agency will be appointed by ministers or by the agency.
Answer
The South of Scotland Enterprise Act 2019 provides that Scottish Ministers will appoint the first Chief Executive of South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE), with subsequent chief executives to be appointed by South of Scotland Enterprise with Scottish Ministers’ approval.
